Representatives Of The Hawaiian Community Demand Accountability From BLNR

Representatives Of The Hawaiian Community Demand Accountability From BLNRCommunity Members Demand Immediate Resignation of BLNR Member Sam B. Gon

(HONOLULU) - Hawaiʻi Unity and Liberation Institute (HULI) and members of the Hawaiian community will gather at the BLNR meeting room at the Kalanimoku Building this morning at 9:30 am. Community members will take action to hold the Board of Land and Natural Resources accountable for its decision authorizing construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope atop Maunakea and demand the immediate resignation of BLNR Hawaiian cultural advisor Sam B. Gon. “The Hawaiian community can no longer allow non-Hawaiian settlers to have authority over our sacred sites,” said Kaleikoa Kaʻeo, Professor of Hawaiian language and Hawaiian Studies at UH Maui College. Kaʻeo is also a spokesperson for HULI who will demand Sam B. Gonʻs immediate resignation in front of the Board. Sam B. Gon has said he will explain himself when the time is right, but according to Walter Ritte, of Hoʻolehua Molokaʻi, “His actions speak louder than words, this is the second time that he voted to approve the permit.” “As a non-Hawaiian sitting in the cultural expert seat, Sam B. Gon has shown that he cannot effectively or ethically represent our interests as Kanaka. Sam B. Gonʻs decisions are causing harm to our mauna and to the Hawaiian people,” said HULI member, Kahoʻokahi Kanuha of Kona, Hawaiʻi. HULI intends to demonstrate to the community and to the illegitimate State of Hawaiʻi that these types of irresponsible decisions that impact Hawaiians will be confronted and people will be held accountable. HULI will hold a press conference outside of the BLNR meeting room at the Kalanimoku Building after the BLNR meeting.